Quarantine lifted at women's prison in Lowell

Published: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 1:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 1:03 p.m.

A quarantine has been lifted for more than 150 inmates at Lowell Correctional Institution in northern Marion County, days after an illness forced authorities to restrict their movements.

Misty Cash, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said on Tuesday that the restriction was lifted Monday at the women's prison.

Cash said that 10 of the 156 inmates affected had flu-like symptoms.

Cash said the test results returned so far have indicated influenza. Officials have not determined how it came into the prison.

In the meantime, the body of Yvonne E. McBride, a 26-year-old inmate from R Dorm — where the sickness was detected — was scheduled to have been buried Tuesday.

McBride was arrested in January and charged as a principal to robbery with a deadly weapon, Marion County court records show.

She was found guilty in June and sentenced to 55 months in prison, followed by two years of probation. She was sent to Lowell not long after being sentenced.

She died last Wednesday at Ocala Regional Medical Center from what family members described as pneumonia.

Citing federal privacy laws, DOC officials would not disclose whether McBride's death was connected to the illness that prompted a quarantine. The virus was detected the day before McBride died, officials said.

A local Department of Health official said the agency is assisting DOC with a diagnosis and last week described the sickness as an “influenza-like illness.”

Cash stressed that not all 156 inmates had come in contact with the illness.

<p>A quarantine has been lifted for more than 150 inmates at Lowell Correctional Institution in northern Marion County, days after an illness forced authorities to restrict their movements.</p><p>Misty Cash, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said on Tuesday that the restriction was lifted Monday at the women's prison.</p><p>Cash said that 10 of the 156 inmates affected had flu-like symptoms.</p><p>Cash said the test results returned so far have indicated influenza. Officials have not determined how it came into the prison.</p><p>In the meantime, the body of Yvonne E. McBride, a 26-year-old inmate from R Dorm — where the sickness was detected — was scheduled to have been buried Tuesday.</p><p>McBride was arrested in January and charged as a principal to robbery with a deadly weapon, Marion County court records show.</p><p>She was found guilty in June and sentenced to 55 months in prison, followed by two years of probation. She was sent to Lowell not long after being sentenced.</p><p>She died last Wednesday at Ocala Regional Medical Center from what family members described as pneumonia.</p><p>Citing federal privacy laws, DOC officials would not disclose whether McBride's death was connected to the illness that prompted a quarantine. The virus was detected the day before McBride died, officials said.</p><p>A local Department of Health official said the agency is assisting DOC with a diagnosis and last week described the sickness as an “influenza-like illness.”</p><p>Cash stressed that not all 156 inmates had come in contact with the illness.</p>